Tick talk: a healthy fear of these predators will allow you to enjoy the outdoors safely

A female tick enlarges dramatically before laying her eggs. (Photo from the University of Rhode Island)

This photo of a female (l) and a male (r) Rocky Mountain wood tick shows the smaller scutum (shield) that a female has, which allows her to consume much more blood than a male. (Photo from freestockphotos.biz)

Nymphal blacklegged, or deer, ticks are the same size as poppy seeds, as shown on this poppy seed muffin. (Photo from CDC.gov ticks image gallery)

An adult male brown dog tick is shown here on a blade of grass. You can see that the scutum covers his whole back, limiting how much blood he can consume at any one meal. (Photo from CDC.gov ticks image gallery)